A Tale of Death
by soitgoes-staygold
Summary: Dean, Jason Todd, Deadpool, and Constantine travel back to Avengers Tower where some agents are waiting for them. Dean tells the group a little bit about Balthazar and Heaven's vault.


Disclaimer: I do not own these characters, they belong to DC, the CW, and Marvel. All mistakes are my own

The car ride back to Avengers Tower was quiet with exhaustion. The classic rock playing at a tolerable volume for once while Constantine and Jason dozed in the back seat and Wade hummed along in between random comments to his boxes. Dean wasn't too sure how he felt about his trip back to Hell, sure it was better than the last time, but Michael and Lucifer helping him out left a sour taste in his mouth. It was bad enough he was going to have to explain the whole Apocalypse thing, at least Wade and Constantine already new about it, but having to find the key to Heaven's vault was borderline impossible. The last time it was even mentioned was after that absolutely awful excursion into the alternate dimension, there was no way that was happening again, no matter what Wade wanted. Dean rolled his eyes and glanced over at the merc. The second Balthazar's name left Dean's mouth, Wade's eyes lit up like a freaking Christmas tree, the merc loved "The French Mistake" or whatever it was called by Chuck. Frankly, it made Dean's skin crawl. Dean let out a soft groan, he really did not want to go into those years of his life with a bunch of relative strangers who on top of it claimed to be heroes.

 **Wish we could teleport like Loki.** _We can teleport like Loki, we just chose not to._ **Ughh, who's idea was that, we could be back at that sweet tower by now and eating some tacos or having a beer.** "We are staying here with Dean-o, didn't you guys hear, the last known location of the key was with Balthazar, that dude was one badass angel," Wade whispered below the low rumble of music. **Hell yeah he was,** _Poor choice of words,_ **lived the hedonist lifestyle to the fullest, knew how to kill a guy too.** "That he did. The shit we could do with the weapons in Heaven's vault, I'm telling you, would love to add some of those bad boys to the collection," Wade gave a dreamy sigh, glancing out the window at the passing countryside as he shifted to get more comfortable. Wade looked back over at Dean, he knew the hunter was uncomfortable about what he was going to have to explain, but Wade would support him a hundred percent. After all, Dean was one of the few people who knew he wasn't completely crazy and understood the whole alternate dimension version of oneself. _That's right, the hunter is not too bad._ **Balks at killing humans.** _He's got plenty of other shit to kill_. "He's killed humans before, he just likes to make sure they actually deserve it first," **Bitch.** Wade rolled his eyes behind his mask irritated at Yellow, although it wouldn't stay that way for long. Wade was amazed the first time he met Dean Winchester, the merc knew those books weren't fiction. However, he was surprised when his boxes immediately liked the hunter as well, Yellow only giving a few snide remarks while White praised the guy even after they parted ways. The hunter took Wade as he was.

A soft groan emanated from the backseat as Dean glanced in the rearview mirror to see Jason stretch. The kid leaned forward placing his elbows on the seat between Dean and Wade, blinking tiredly. What he had to be tired about, Dean couldn't imagine, the kid wasn't the one to die and go to Hell again. Dean tensed and let out a deep breath trying to relax his body, but he was still agitated with everything. This Thanos problem was getting out of hand, more and more problems kept creeping up with little to know way of solving them. Dean wanted out for a bit and it had nothing to do with the story he was going to have to tell, it absolutely did not. Dean gave a heavy sigh, they were going to need more help. "So, how are we going to find this key?" Jason's voice made Dean jump, the hunter turned his head slightly to look at the dark haired man, "I don't know." Jason glanced at Wade who was still singing to himself and tapping along to the song playing. "The last time I knew anything about Heaven's vault was when we were working with this angel Balthazar," Dean continued, knuckles turning white as he gripped the wheel. "Where is this Balthazar now?" Jason asked quietly, noting Dean's tense shoulders and white knuckles. "Dead. Look I'm not saying this story more than once so you can just wait til we get back," Dean said decisively with a clench of his jaw. Out of the corner of his eye, Dean saw Wade indicate for Jason to sit back and leave the topic alone for the time being.

Jason leaned back giving Dean some room to breath. The vigilante knew guilt and regret when he saw it. If Dean was this uptight and agitated about telling the group about the Key and Balthazar, this wasn't going to be an easy story to hear and withhold judgement. Jason didn't know what Dean went through and until he heard all the facts he would try to give the hunter the benefit of the doubt, after all, Constantine and Deadpool vouched for the green eyed man and the hunter has been nothing but honest and enduring. Jason wasn't worried about Bruce either, he would be surprised if the Batman didn't already have a full file on Dean Winchester. It was Loki and Tony Stark. The god was furious when Dean grabbed the Soul Gem and Stark has already made his dislike for the hunter known. Jason heaved a sigh, never had he thought this would be his life. Sure, when he joined Bruce in his crusade Jason knew his life would be more on the side of ridiculous, but Death, Heaven, Hell, and aliens, sometimes he wished he just stayed dead.

Dean pulled the Impala into the garage under Avengers Tower feeling some tension leave his body at the prospect of a bed. The hunter watched, confused, as Wade pulled out one of his pistols and turned to the backseat placing the muzzle to Constantine's forehead and screamed "wake up call," causing the exorcist to flail and curse the cackling merc out. Dean keeled over laughing while a slow smirk crossed Jason's features. The four men exited the car with Constantine threatening Wade with a hex and Dean quickly making his way to the elevator. He stopped just short of pressing the button, noticing a nondescript black sedan parked a little ways away. Dean glanced at Wade, catching the mercs attention as he indicated to the vehicle. Wade's eyes lit up with glee, the merc was practically bouncing on the balls of his feet in anticipation. "Wade, what the hell, who's car is that?" Dean grabbed the mercs shoulder as the group entered the elevator. "Old One Eye's," Wade smirked at Dean's confused face. "Is that a euphemism?" the hunter's eyebrows crinkled as a chuckle escaped from someone behind him. "Usually, yes, but in this case, absolutely not Dean-o," Wade gave him a manic grin as the elevator doors opened into a wide spacious room, overlooking the city below.

Four men were standing in the middle of the room, Dean knew Stark and Loki, but the other two were unknown to him. Wade, however, squealed and launched himself at the unassuming white guy in a suit. The last man, a tall, bald, black man clad in leather was staring at Dean with one eye. Dean blinked, as if to assure himself of both his own eyes and stared back, although he didn't know where to look, the eye or the patch. The tension was high in the room, Wade's excited chattering barely concealed the scathing looks cast between eye patch and everyone else. "Dean," Wade called as the hunter turned his attention to the merc and the suit. Raising an eyebrow at Wade, Dean shifted in order to give the two men his attention, "Wade, who are these guys?" Dean watched as the suit raised his eyebrows at Dean's use of Deadpool's name. "This here is Agent Phil Coulson, don't let his appearance fool you, very dangerous," Wade grinned as he clapped the agent on the shoulder. "And Old One Eye?" Dean smothered a grin as he asked Wade. It was Coulson who answered as the merc giggled, shooting glances at the man in leather, "Director Nick Fury of SHIELD." Dean looked over at Fury who had moved and was now conversing with Constantine as Jason stood off to the side.

"Dean Winchester," Coulson stated, in a tone hinting at prior knowledge, causing Dean's head to snap around and look at the man with wide green eyes. Coulson's face was impassive, revealing nothing to the hunter about what the agent knew about him. Dean's eyes slitted in suspicion, "what the hell is SHIELD?" A corner of Coulson's mouth turned up at Dean's questioning going straight to the organization and not Coulson himself. "SHIELD is the watchdog of the world," Wade laughed avoiding Coulson's pointed glare. "SHIELD, essentially, ensures the safety of the United States and the world from unknown and unprecedented threats," Agent Coulson clarified as Dean shot the man an unimpressed face. "Before you ask, yes, we are aware of the hunting community and the supernatural," Coulson remarked before Dean could even ask. "Then why have we never come across you people before?" Dean demanded slowly getting annoyed, he never liked suits. Coulson sighed, shoulders slumping a little, "it is nigh impossible to gain access to the hunter community. Your group does not want to be organized, you all end up in the lifestyle of a hunter based solely on personal reasons. A community like that would never accept an organization like SHIELD." Dean nodded in agreement, the man had it right, there was no way any hunter could ever rely on a faceless group with no real ties to the life.

Jason watched from the sides as Constantine talked with Nick Fury. A few years ago, when he was still Robin, Nick Fury had come to Gotham looking to make contact with Batman. Jason wasn't privy to the conversation between the Director and Batman, but let's just say SHIELD has never set foot in Gotham, which was saying something because Nick Fury did not look easily intimidated. Jason was listening to the conversation between Constantine and Fury, the men clearly knew each other, but how, Jason did not know. Constantine was laying on the charm thick, all slow smirks and evasive answers to Fury's blunt questions. Jason could tell the men disliked each other, which didn't bode well for his opinion of Fury. Jason glanced over at Dean, Wade, and the other suit, Coulson, apparently. Their conversation seemed to be going as well as Constantine and Fury's. Jason suppressed a groan, he had hoped once getting back to Avengers Tower they could rest before having to deal with bureaucratic bullshit.

Dean rolled his eyes as he heard Stark clear his throat, calling everyone into the center of the room. The men made their way over, taking seats on the couches, groups clearly separated with Jason, Dean, Wade, and Constantine on one side and Stark, Loki, Fury, and Coulson across from them. Dean zoned out as introductions were made, shifting in his seat as his name was said and eyes slowly scanned his body. Unhappy with having the suits involved Dean tried to keep his mouth shut as the group began to talk, discussing the reasons for being there. It was only when there was a lull in the background noise that Dean perked up to see everyone looking at him expectantly. "Sorry, ugh, what?" Dean cringed at having been caught daydreaming. Wade smirked, reaching across to cuff him on the head. Coulson gave a patient smile, "we asked you to tell us about Heaven's vault and the key."

Dean looked down and slowly blinked, gathering himself and deciding what and how much to tell them. Wade and Constantine knew the story already, the rest of them, how could he explain the Apocalypse and the civil war in Heaven. Dean looked back up, concealing a flinch at the eyes staring at him. Taking deep breath, Dean began, "Heaven's vault is pretty much exactly what it sounds like, it contains all of Heaven's most powerful weapons. You know, Staff of Moses, Arc of the Covenant, Lot's Salt, and so on. Well, a few years ago, an angel, who everyone thought was dead, stole the key to the vault and was selling the weapons in it. Me, Sam, and Cas went looking for the items and found Balthazar. Balthazar was the not dead angel who had been living it up on Earth and selling pieces of the weapons for human souls." Dean looked around, eyes landing on Constantine who gave an encouraging nod. "See, Heaven was in the middle of a civil war, we stopped the Apocalypse but, turns out that some of the angels didn't really want that. Raphael, the last Archangel in Heaven wanted humanity destroyed as it was supposed to be according to God, Michael, Lucifer, Gabriel, yadda yadda yadda." Dean took a breath as Stark's jaw was on the ground and Loki's face was dark with concentration. Coulson and Fury were sitting passively, but clearly cataloging everything Dean said. "So, Balthazar decided to help Cas fight Raphael by giving him access to the weapons in the vault. Balthazar had the key at all times, Raphael thought the key was disguised as a key to a locker at a train station in New York City. Now that I think about it, I wouldn't put it past Balthazar to do exactly that," Dean frowned in thought, "anyways, long story short, Balthazar was the last one to have access to the key and Heaven's vault."

Dean waited as the group of men slowly adjusted to the abbreviated version of the tale. Coulson looked at Dean with consideration, "so, where is Balthazar now? If he was the last to have the key shouldn't we just find the angel and ask about it?" Dean's fists clenched involuntarily, "he's dead." Stark groaned as he rubbed his face, "great, apparently angels can die, that's just wonderful." Jason cleared his throat, causing Dean to turn his head towards the kid. "What if the train locker key is really the key to the vault, or what if the locker is where the real key is?" Jason surmised as Dean nodded in accordance, he had begun to suspect the same thing now that he told the story again. "So, what, you want to search every locker in every New York train station? Seems like it will be like finding a needle in a haystack," Stark snorted in derision. Dean shook his head in annoyance, "no, we should be able to do a spell that will show any angelic sigils that could conceal an object." Dean looked at Loki who gave a slight nod in agreement, "I would be able to, just find me the spell hunter," the god demanded haughtily. Dean nodded and rubbed a hand through his blonde hair . Standing, Dean effectively ended all queries by exiting the room in search of his bed.

Jason sighed as he watched Dean leave. The tale was clearly the briefest version, leaving gaping holes in the plot line and details. Jason was curious about a lot of things; how and why Balthazar died, the Apocalypse, Heaven's civil war, and Dean's overall life. "Well, now that we have barely any more information, just theories, I do have some good news," Stark's sarcastic drawl cut through Jason's musings. "Now that Loki is back he can start laying the magic into the weapons and you worthy gentlemen can try them out at the end of the week," Stark gave them a satisfied smirk as he stood and made his way to the elevator, Loki following to head down to the workshop. Agent Coulson and Fury exchanged a look before standing up, "we'll be in touch," Coulson said handing a card to Constantine. Jason looked at the last two men, Constantine took out a cigarette and lit up with a satisfying drag. Deadpool grinned at jason and made his way into the kitchen, riffling through the cabinets looking for food. a comfortable silence spread through the room, each man relaxing as the day's events came to a halt.


End file.
